Julie Cunningham, AAPP President-Elect
Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept on the horizon of health care, it’s already shaping how we document, screen, communicate, and research topics. Patients are also using AI, turning to chatbots and symptom-checkers for medication questions, reassurance during crises, or even support in place of therapy when access, cost, or stigma are barriers.
For psychiatric pharmacists and psychotropic stewardship initiatives where our work sits at the intersection of complex pharmacotherapy and human relationships, the arrival of AI brings both promise and real concerns. AAPP is committed to ensuring we don't just adapt but participate as informed leaders in our practice and make knowledgeable AI choices that augment our patient’s care experience.
Used thoughtfully, AI tools can reduce administrative burden, identify patterns in medication response, and create more time for clinical reasoning and therapeutic alliance. Without oversight in the creation and maintenance, AI tools can amplify bias, compromise privacy, and introduce errors in patient care. AI can also add to your level of burnout.
AAPP plans to address the impact of AI through four priorities:
- Education and Collaboration. We will continue to incorporate AI themed education into our continuing education content, such as the session at the 2026 Summit. Additionally, coming soon, a new Health Innovations and Technology Community recommended and led by members Jen Dress and Andrea Winterswyk will be introduced to create space for members to share pilots, experiences, and lessons learned.
- Ethics in AI Publication. AAPP will be forming a task force to deliberate and author a publication on the ethical use of AI from the vantage point of the psychiatric pharmacy profession.
- Research. Current committees will focus on toolkit creation and updates incorporating AI best practices.
- Advocacy. AAPP will be monitoring as regulators and health systems set the rules for AI. The need for policy positions and any advocacy in coalition with other organizations and/or solely will be evaluated and acted upon.
Technology will keep changing; the value we bring to the patient will not. AI can augment the psychiatric pharmacist, but never replace the clinical judgment, empathy, and accountability our patients rely on. We invite every member to join future conversations and volunteer related opportunities that will arise, so that as AI advances, psychiatric pharmacy continues to put patients first. As always, we welcome your comments at board@aapp.org.